Skábmagovat Presents: Shorts from Sápmi

In celebration of the Sámi National Day, Skábmagovat Film Festival presents a screening of short documentaries at DocPoint.

The Past and the Future of the Arctic
dir. Hans Pieski, Sápmi, Finland 2023, 6 min
The impact of climate change on the Arctic wilderness has been rapid. This film mirrors the changes through footage of people living in the North today and in the past. The Past and Future of the Arctic is part of the Witness documentary series, in which Indigenous filmmakers ponder the impact that climate change is having on their communities.

My Grandfather’s Language
dir. Jukka Vuorela-Morottaja, Sápmi, Finland 2023, 30 min
Trauma that spans generations can make a person feel rootless. Ulpu is a part of the Inari Sámi people, and learning the language of her ancestors, and her Grandpa Hannu – a language spoken by less than 500 people in the world – as an adult, was an empowering and healing experience.  

Home River
dir. Kati Eriksen & Scott Thornton, Sápmi, Finland, USA 2023, 26 min
Fishing has been an integral part of Sámi culture and identity in Utsjoki. When a new law prohibited fishing in the local river, the Sámi people protested by fishing without permits and turning themselves in afterwards. The time had come to take the measure of constitutional rights.

Áhkuin
dir. Radio-JusSunná / Sunná Nousuniemi & Guhtur Niillas Rita Duomis / Tuomas Kumpulainen, Sápmi, Finland, USA 2024, 20 min
A visual and musical love letter to the director’s late grandmother, Niillasaš-Jovnna Máret, born one hundred years ago. Archival interviews and the joik of áhkku are weaved together across time, and the melancholy but playful tale offers lessons for a new age defined by taking and giving.

Skábmagovat (translated by Mira Sairanen, Sofia Lanki & Adrian Murtomäki)